Martyn's Law Readiness
The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 places new legal duties on qualifying venues. Preparation costs a fraction of what late compliance does.
Page reviewed September 2026. Updated as official guidance develops. This page is general information, not legal advice.
Martyn's Law Readiness Review
One engagement that establishes exactly where your premises stand and what you need to do about it.
- Premises assessment and tier determination
- Threat and vulnerability review
- Gap analysis against the requirements that apply to you
- Review of your existing documentation and procedures
- Response and evacuation arrangements assessed
- Staff awareness considerations
- Written action plan, prioritised
- Management briefing on the findings
Scoped to your premises and quoted on its own footprint. Most venues need one review and nothing further until guidance changes.
Two tiers, one duty holder, no ambiguity.
Martyn's Law applies to qualifying premises and events based on the number of people who may reasonably be expected to be present. Which tier you fall into determines what you must do.
- Standard Tier (200 to 799): you must put in place public protection procedures and notify the regulator. The emphasis is on preparedness, not physical investment.
- Enhanced Tier (800 and above): procedures plus public protection measures, a documented assessment, and a named senior individual accountable for compliance.
Four procedures every qualifying venue must consider.
The Act requires appropriate public protection procedures to be put in place so far as reasonably practicable for your premises, and staff must be capable of carrying them out. Written plans that nobody has walked through do not meet the standard.
- Evacuation: getting people out of the premises safely.
- Invacuation: bringing people into the premises, or moving them to a safer part of it.
- Lockdown: securing the premises against a person attempting to enter.
- Communication: alerting staff and the public, and moving information to where decisions are made.
What happens if you are not ready.
The Security Industry Authority is the regulator. Its approach is worth understanding before you rely on being told when something is wrong.
- Assessment is silent. The SIA does not audit on a published schedule and will not tell you in advance that it is looking at you.
- No tailored advice, no endorsed advisers. The regulator will not review your plans for you, and it endorses no consultancy. Anyone claiming SIA approval does not have it.
- Restriction notices can halt operations. The power exists to restrict the use of premises, which for a venue means closed doors and cancelled bookings.
- Penalties are set against the business, not the task. Non-compliance penalties reach £10,000 for Standard Tier premises. For Enhanced Tier premises and qualifying events the maximum is the greater of £18 million or 5% of qualifying worldwide revenue, with daily penalties of up to £500 and £50,000 respectively where non-compliance continues.
What the review actually does.
The readiness review works through four stages. You can stop at any of them and still be better off than when you started.
- 1. Establish position: confirm whether the Act applies, which tier you fall into, and where you stand today against the requirements.
- 2. Assess risk: a structured terrorism risk assessment across recognised attack methodologies, producing a prioritised action plan for your premises.
- 3. Build the documentation: the four statutory procedures written for your venue, your layout and your staffing, not adapted from someone else's template.
- 4. Test and assure: a tabletop exercise that puts the plans in front of the people who would use them, followed by independent assurance review.
Support beyond the review
The review tells you where you stand. Where it identifies work to do, these are the engagements that follow. Most venues need one or two of them, not all six.
Documentation & Procedures
The statutory procedures drafted for your premises, your layout and your staffing, rather than adapted from a template.
Terrorism Risk Assessment
A standalone structured assessment of threat, likelihood and impact across your site, where a fuller risk picture is needed.
Testing & Exercising
A tabletop exercise that puts the plans in front of the people who would use them, with a full facilitator report.
Standard Tier Readiness
End to end support for Standard Tier premises, from review through documentation to staff briefing.
Enhanced Tier Readiness
For premises at 800 capacity and above, including public protection measures, documented assessment and support for your named senior individual.
Ongoing Support
Retained advisory support, or an annual compliance review to keep your documentation current as guidance develops.
Every venue is different, so each engagement is scoped and quoted on its own footprint and complexity. Get in touch and let us discuss how we can help.
What we will not tell you
No consultancy can guarantee your compliance, and you should be wary of any that says otherwise. The regulator endorses nobody. What we provide is informed, practical preparation aligned with official guidance as it develops, delivered by an adviser who has spent over twenty years in security and risk rather than someone who read the Act last month. If a short conversation establishes that you need less than you thought, we will tell you that too.
Official sources. The Act itself: Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025. Home Office statutory guidance: section 27 guidance on GOV.UK. The regulator's position: SIA guidance on GOV.UK. The government has designed the guidance so that those in scope can comply without buying consultancy services, and neither the Home Office nor the SIA endorses any third-party provider. What we offer is time saved and experience applied; the responsibility remains with the responsible person.
Find out where you stand.
The Act is expected to come into force in spring 2027; the exact commencement date has not yet been confirmed. Venues that start now will meet it with confidence rather than cost.
Check your Martyn's Law position